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Permalink Reply by Jon Heim on September 3, 2010 at 4:21pm

patriotism isn't thinking that we have special reverence for our own people. Patriotism is thinking that we need to do what we can to make sure that our government works the way we think it should.

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Permalink Reply by Fancy Nancy on September 3, 2010 at 4:23pm

Hmm ... interesting subject which I've just Wiki'd ... like most concepts, it depends what you mean by them : patriotism can be positive in terms of being prepared to contribute, question and if necessary defend your country. Especially if you live in a democracy where you have (in theory) some input into how it's governed and rights and benefits which people have fought for? Allied with a genuine fondness for the place, 'warts n all' ? You might say, as Virginia Woolf did that '[as a woman] my country is the whole world' and we can identify with particular groups worldwide but it's a bit like saying we should 'love everybody' ...for most people, their real connections are more limited and their country, or at least their local part of it, its traditions, its language etc, is what they really know and is part of who they are ... hence people 'living in exile' often yearn for 'home' don't they? Even if the home they left is no longer there ... I suppose many people now have dual/multiple nationalities/patriotic feelings/ identities ... anyway this is my way of thinking ...

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Permalink Reply by Jason Paisley on September 4, 2010 at 3:15am

I'd say patriotism is just a love for country but nationalism is the scary extreme and we're seeing a lot of it now.

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Permalink Reply by Shine on September 5, 2010 at 12:03pm

I'd say patriotism is just a love for country but nationalism is the scary extreme and we're seeing a lot of it now.

I was thinking of this distinction also.

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Permalink Reply by Keith Johnston on September 11, 2010 at 8:06pm

I find patriotism to be utterly ridiculous. Boarders are created by psychotics who have a desire to control other people. When you look at the earth are there dotted lines everywhere?
People are all human. That is the only thing that is important. The accident of birthplace is a completely stupid thing to be proud of and has no significance on the contribution you do or do not make to the cause of humanity other than through the social pressure you experience.

Patriotism is state encouraged and is a control tool to create Xenophobia when it suits the elite.
It may look like nothing but it can be used to to whip up people into xenophobic frenzy. Hitler did it and the Bush administration did it. It's used to justify the war in Iraq and its used to shoot down and ostracism anybody who argues against the war or in fact anything the state does.

How can I be proud of my Nations achievements and what it stands for when I had absolutely nothing to do with those things. In fact Even if I wanted to change the way things are done it would be all but impossible to do any more than create the slightest dent in the Armour.

We are all of one world, boarders are simply fences to keep the farm animals under control.

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